Old Fashioned Snow Cream

When there's snow, you MUST have old fashioned snow cream!  

8 cups of fresh clean snow +

1/2 Tbsp. of vanilla + 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk =

a sweet creamy treat!

*This Recipe is Macklan Approved*

 

S*N*O*W*

my Little snow Man 

Snowy Saturday

Special Note:
At this time last year we were gathered together with a dozen family members for thirteen long days making every effort to outlast the 2009 winter ice storm. Therefore, any amount of ice SNOW would be warmly welcomed by us! 

What you are about to read are the events and thoughts leading up to our snowy Saturday experience. I found it necessary to set the stage, so here goes:

Early in the week every news station forecasted a winter storm headed our way, so we couldn't help but be on edge a little bit since it was the anniversary of last year's beastly beauty, a.k.a. Winter Ice Storm 2009. This January the ice would spare us and instead cripple our neighboring states to the south; we could expect several inches of the white stuff! With predictions of 6-8" of snow, I made a few preparations since I figured we'd be cooped up for several days (preparations which included a trip to Wal-Mart with every other human being in our county)!

Wayne Hart and Jeff Lyons, our go-to meterologists, became permanent figures on the TV screen as I was constantly checking for an update on the approaching weather. Taking precautions under a winter storm warning, school was cancelled for Friday late on Thursday night. For Scott the decision to cancel school permitted him to stay up late with the hopes of sleeping in; it permitted me to only stay up late! Macklan doesn't understand "sleeping in!" He is on a schedule, so by 7:00 AM two of the three Blakes were up.

I didn't really have a problem getting up with Macklan as Scott slept in for an extra hour because I was anticipating the beautiful snow. One of my simple pleasures in life is watching it snow. To my surprise, when I pulled open the curtains, I saw not even a flake! What? Where was the snow? Turning on the news, I discovered that the storm had slowed down considerably and would not reach us until sometime that afternoon. No school. No snow. Kind of a contridiction, huh???

So we watched and waited. Finally, Friday afternoon the flurries began and by nightfall we had a pretty heavy dusting of snow. What we woke up to the next morning was simply beautiful! 6-8 inches of snow just as predicted, only a day late, making it a snowy Saturday!

Stepping out into inches of snow...

Heading to Nana & Pappy's for a quick visit...

Trudging through the snow is hard work for a little fella...

Preparing for his 1st sled ride...

Let me try this backwards!

Catching a ride home on the sled...

Flipping out of the sled head first...

A little help here!

Throwing powdery snow at Mommy...

Daddy & Macklan

Mommy & Macklan

NOT interested in making a snow angel!!!

Somebody had to make one!!!

Spinning and laughing...

Making it snow...

Stirring hot cocoa...

Indulging in a marshmallow treat...

Spending our snowy Saturday together was well worth a day's wait!

Winter Treats...

for the birds are easy and fun! Once I gathered all the necessary supplies,

-a few large pine cones

-jar of peanut butter

-a small spreader or spoon

-a large Ziploc bag

-bird seed

-a shaker (a.k.a. small child with lots of energy)

-a piece of string or yarn

-a tree with low branches

-a captivated birdwatcher

it was time to get this Sunday afternoon craft shakin'!

Macklan enjoyed making pine cone feeders by smearing and smooshing peanut butter onto pine cones with a small spreader. What he didn't enjoy was getting the peanut butter on his hands. Getting his hands too messy lead him to call in his reinforcement...Mommy! So after I finished spreading the PB, we dropped the pine cones in a large Ziploc bag containing bird seed. Then I called in my reinforcement...the shaker...Macklan. This was his favorite part of the craft; shakin' the bag until every inch of the pine cones was covered with bird seed. Next we removed the pine cones from the bag and attached a length of yarn around them as a hanger. All that was left to do was hang them in a nearby tree so the birds could enjoy a winter treat!

 

 

 

In the words of my little captivated birdwatcher, "Come and eat it!"

Our Football HERO

A fun football collage I created using Picasa.

Snowed in with Nothing...

TONS to do! All it takes is a little creative thinking; who says you can't have a snowball fight inside the house or go on an animal hunt in your bedroom? Not this Mommy!

Waking up to snow is exciting.
No matter your age!
Finding out there's NO SCHOOL is icing on the cake.
No matter your age!

Even at thirty-something Scott and I get super excited about snow days; maybe that has something to do with being middle school teachers! For me, it also means time at home with my Little Man. The first thing Macklan did on Thursday morning was check out the snow! He proclaimed, "It's EVERWHERE Mommy! Look!!!"



Since the temperatures were so frigid, I opted to keep Macklan indoors. Therefore, we played a lot and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks a lot! Macklan dug up these blocks out of his closet from last Christmas. What's up with that? He has new toys scattered throughout the house, and he chooses to play with his old toys. So that lasted for maybe half an hour and then it was on to something else!

Creativity got the best of us after being cooped up for days one day.

Day 2: Since we didn't go outside to enjoy the elements, we had an indoor snowball fight with mounds of snowballs--a.k.a. blankets and towels. Macklan LOVED attacking his Daddy with snowballs. I am so glad that Macklan is content and happy during imaginative play. It amazes me how his little mind is like a sponge soaking up all that he is exposed to, whether imaginative or real.

Later that night, another creative thought came to mind when Macklan was asking for a flashlight. How about an animal hunt in his bedroom. We go on "bear hunts" on summer nights; why not simulate a hunt inside on a cold, snowy night! Great idea!!! Scott and I took turns hiding stuffed animals in Macklan's room. Then with the lights off, he would come in and "hunt" for his animals using his flashlight. He is a really good hunter!

Day 3: Time to paint! Macklan is my little artist. He loves to paint and has created some beautiful pictures that cover my refrigerator. When doing an arts and crafts project, he demands independence! He wants NO help from Mommy (or anyone for that matter). I just get to observe the artist at work!

We did have the UK basketball game to look forward to on this particular night which helped to pass time. Macklan loves basketball and is already a Cats fan! Daddy and Macklan being silly with pom-poms on their heads!

He also loves football, so we played a little after the Cats game. I think he'll be a quarterback. Check out that release and perfect aim!!!

Perfect smile too!

A new face...the snarly nose! He does this whenever he's being ornery or attempting to appear tough. It's really actually cute rather than intimidating or scary!

Being snowed in is fun when you're with someone as cute, creative, and charming as this Little Man!

2010...A New Year!

Wow! Another year has come and gone. It doesn't seem possible; wasn't it just a few months ago that we were welcoming 2009 with our closest friends? Well, believe it or not...2010 is here! Once again we gathered with our friends on the eve of a new year and brought it "in" in just the right way!

• A delicious spread of finger foods and desserts that we grazed over all night!
• A friendly game of Pictionary (by friendly, I mean that the women did not remind the men all night about the whooping they received...we just occassionally reminded them in a friendly kind of way!)
• A little humiliation as several got jiggy with it by attempting the Wii game Just Dance!
• A long awaited play date among the little ones!
• A fun game of 80's Scene It!
• A ton of laughter and catching up with one another!

Thanking God for all the blessings of 2009! Speaking of blessings...

Some of the boys playing Wii Just Dance! Look at Macklan's face. He was really into it, even though his controller wasn't even connected! :)

Us with all of our GREAT friends! Another blessing!

Two is company...

Three is a crowd!

2009 was a year to be remembered!

I look forward to what 2010 will bring to my family and friends.